The Pink Ball journey so far

The first day night Test involving Australia and New Zealand was about to take place. It was time to introduce the all new pink ball.

The stage was set for an evolution to take place. Though still unsure about its future in the game, the fans were eager and excited to finally see something ‘new’ in the humdrum of the five day format.

Cricket Australia was trying its best to make it a success. Adelaide was always going to be the perfect venue to experiment with the pink ball. It ticked all the boxes. The pitches here are less harsh on the ball; moreover, the crowd here loves cricket and turn up in large numbers. The expectation was of an ‘Ashes-like’ crowd.

An innovation here to stay

While many suspect if it’s a concept or an innovation that will endure over the coming years, some believe it has a bright future. We still cannot come to a conclusion on the matter, only time can tell.

But, Keith Bradshaw, a man long involved with the concept thinks that it is an ‘innovation here to stay’.

Keith is a former Tasmania cricketer, who has long been a supporter of day-night first-class cricket. For almost five years (2006-2011) as a secretary and chief executive of MCC, he has helped pioneer and push the pink-ball concept.

"I feel really proud, but also really privileged, to have been involved with the development of the pink ball for such a long period of time," Bradshaw said. "I think it's an innovation that is here to stay and I think we're only going to see more and more day-night Test cricket.

"We were really concerned. Test cricket is the pinnacle and we really want Test cricket to survive into the future. During my time at MCC nine or ten years ago we recognized the falling numbers, particularly in the subcontinent, and we needed to innovate and bring in day-night Test cricket, hence the development of the pink ball.

"But we also needed to preserve the integrity: the balance between bat and ball, the contest that takes place. That was very important. Now, we're at a point where the pink ball is going to deliver us that contest. I think this is the start of a really important journey, and we really have an exciting future ahead of us", he told ESPNCricinfo.

Uncertainty, Mixed opinions

Going into the third test, there was a tinge of uncertainty. The pink ball had received mixed opinions, from the few matches played till then. Some saw it as an advantage while some were disappointed with it.

Nathan Lyon and Steven O’Keefe the two Aussie spinners were confident of playing with the pink ball. The latter is a self described ‘pink ball specialist’ as he picked up 18 wickets in the three day night matches for New South Wales with an average of 18.22.

Lyon said many batsmen couldn’t see the seam of the pink ball and it would give him and O’Keefe an upper hand in the contest.

“It’s perfect. Batters can’t see the seam,” Lyon said on Friday. “It’s going to be pretty interesting. “It’s no different for me, bowling with a red ball, white ball or pink ball. I’m not going to change my plan. It’s just about getting out there and executing and being consistent.”

On the other hand, many players including Mitchell Starc and Adam Voges expressed their disappointment.

"There wasn't much pink left on it by the end of the game," Adam Voges told local media after New Zealand's 102-run win over the local Prime Minister's XI side.

"The one that got hit onto the roof (by New Zealand batsman Martin Guptill) and didn't come back was 28 overs old and it looked like it was 68 overs old to be fair.

"To be honest, it didn't hold up very well at all tonight. It looked as though the lacquer had come off and it was turning green basically.

"There were bits of pink left, but it was more green than pink by the end.

"I know that it stopped swinging, there was no reverse-swing or anything like that because both sides get chunked up equally, but the older it gets, I can't see it being any easier to see."

“It goes soft pretty quickly ... it definitely reacts very, very differently to the red ball. I couldn't see the thing at night on the boundary. I couldn't see the ball.” – Mitchell Starc

"We don't want a ball that's not going to swing," said Starc, who featured in the most recent day-night Sheffield Shield round.

"It goes soft pretty quickly ... it definitely reacts very, very differently to the red ball.

"Gurinder (Sandhu) swung it a little bit when it was brand new, but not for many overs.

"I don't know whether it's the leather or the lacquer - we didn't see much reverse-swing at all.

"I'm yet to be convinced. I can understand why it's happening ... I guess time will tell to see whether it works or not."

A candid Starc did not stop there.

"I couldn't see the thing at night on the boundary. I couldn't see the ball," he said.

"So I'm not sure how the crowd are going to see it."

As I said earlier, only time will tell if this concept can take over and continue in the sport. Test cricket is dying day by day with fans and players favoring the shorter and ‘entertaining’ formats of the game. Genuine cricket fans though, are aware of its importance and are trying their best to save it.

This evolution will certainly bring about a change in the 140 year old format. The change however should not be at the cost of the significance of Test cricket.